Manananggal, sometimes referred to as Tik-tik, is one of the most famous mythological creatures in the Philippines. The word "manananggal" literally means "one who detaches." It can detach its upper body from its lower body after undergoing a gruesome transformation. At day light, it takes the form of a very beautiful woman, an effective way to spy for naïve victims and luring them to devour. When night falls, it retreats to a hiding spot to and begins its ritual and transform into a hideous, vampire-like hunter preying on humans. The ritual starts with anointing its human body with a special type of oil. Slowly, its body grows a pair of enormous bat-like wings, very sharp teeth and a dreadfully long sharp tongue. In the process, it produces this very tiny shrieking sound repeatedly. Then it separates itself from its lower body and flies to the air to begin hunting for its prey, leaving its legs and the bottom half of its torso on the ground.

The manananggal flies around the quiet sky looking for babies most specially for fetuses inside mothers’ wombs. As to the case of human adults, it enjoys devouring human organs and entrails. When the manananggal spots the house of its victim, it waits patiently on the rooftop until the mother is fast asleep. When everyone if already sleeping, it makes a small hole from the roof and slowly lowers its tongue to touch the womb. Its tongue is said to be hollow, fine, and sharp like that of a needle. It uses its tongue to suck out fetuses, organs, and entrails from its victims.

It is believed that Manananggals are always accompanied by a bird called tiktik. The tik tik heralds the approach of a manananggal. It produces the sound “tik-tik” or “ik-ik-ik” while flying. Folklore dictates that the fainter the sound, the nearer the manananggal is. This is a way to confuse their victims. On the other hand, black cats and crows signal a tik-tik's presence. The aftermath of a tik-tik or manananggal attacks are deformed faces or bodies. The manananggals are believed to greatly detest salt, ash, garlic and holy water. They also fear daggers, vinegar, onions and spices. The only way to destroy a Manananggal is to prevent it from reuniting with its lower torso until sunrise arrives. The origin of manananggal varies. One account says that a chick is living inside the manananggal, which must be passed on from one person--usually a relative on their deathbed- to another. This chick is said to be living in the pit of the creature's stomach. The manananggal usually starts out human, but the chick devours the person's own entrails while keeping them alive. Because of this, the person then begins to crave for human flesh, and eventually transforms into these hideous man-eating creatures. Another way involves a ritual involving a special chant, oil, and an egg of a black chicken. The future manananggal should rub the oil from the ritual onto their bodies while reciting the chant. Finally, they must keep the egg in their armpit until it disappears. Myth or Not?